Chapter Seven

Evy's In Trouble

"Alright, Laura. You need me for anything else?" Sam asked.

"Nope, I think that'll do it, Sam. Thanks for coming in. I know it's your day off."

Before Sam could answer her, the phone rang. Laura answered it as Sam gathered his things and started to leave, thinking about what to pick up for dinner that night. He made sure he had his grocery list in his pocket, and turned to wave at Laura, only to see her waving at him.

"Yes, he's right here. Hold on." Laura covered the mouthpiece and looked at Sam, concerned. "It's Evy's school. They need you to come pick her up."

"What?" Sam asked as he took the phone. "This is Sam Winchester."

It was Evy's school principal. The story she told Sam was one Sam had heard before, though he could hardly believe it was happening again. Evy had been in a fight at school, and Sam needed to come get her as soon as he could. Sam told the principal he'd be there soon. By the time he hung up, Sam was rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to fend off a coming headache. As he gave the phone back to Laura, she asked,

"Everything okay?"

"No." Sam said. "Look, I know I said I'd come in tomorrow, but Evy just got suspended for the rest of the week."

"What in the world?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet." Sam said. "I'll come back in Saturday."

"Take the time you need Sam." Laura said kindly. "We can finish inventory Saturday."

"Thanks." Sam said, turning to leave.

Sam arrived at the school a few minutes later, dreading what was about to happen. He had been trying to come up with what to do with Evy. He had ultimately decided to get the full story before making his decision. Sam turned off the car and walked inside. Evy was sitting in a chair, her backpack off to the side, looking down to the floor. Sam walked over and kneeled in front of her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said quietly.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

Before Evy could answer, a voice called him from the other side of the room. "Mr. Winchester?"

Sam turned and saw Evy's principal standing in the door of her office. "Can I speak to you a moment, please?"

Sam turned back to Evy. "I'll be back."

Evy said nothing, just nodded and turned to look back at the floor. Sam sighed and stood up, walking over and joining the principal in her office. Sam took the chair in front of the desk and waited to hear what she had to say.

"How are you today?" the principal, Mrs. Goodson, asked.

"I've been better." Sam said. "What happened?"

"Apparently, Evy and Jessica were on the playground together. Jessica started picking on Evy's friend Lily. Evy asked her to stop and when Jessica didn't, Evy jumped on her and they started fighting." Mrs. Goodson explained.

"Jessica? That's the other girl involved?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Mrs. Goodson said. "I'm afraid Jessica's the class bully. This isn't the first time I've dealt with her on bullying issues. She's received the same punishment as Evy."

"Suspension?" Sam asked. "Isn't that a little harsh, given that she was picking on Lily?"

"Had Evy not started the physical fight, I would agree with you." Mrs. Goodson said. "I really didn't want to suspend her. But Evy threw the punch. She hurt another student, and I can't just let that go."

"I understand." Sam said. "You said she was suspended for three days?"
"Yes." Mrs. Goodson answered. "It's Tuesday. She can come back on Monday. Mrs. Olson's given Evy her homework assignments. They're in her backpack."

"Okay. Thank you." Sam said. "Is that all?"

"Just one more thing." Mrs. Goodson said. "And this is off the record. Evy is a great student, and a great kid. I really, really didn't want to do this. Just tell her, please, the next time Jessica's being a bully to her or to Lily, walk away and come find an adult. Whatever happens, just do not hit anyone."

"I will. I'll talk to her." Sam promised.

"Okay. Have a good rest of your week." Mrs. Goodson said.

Sam got up and walked outside, where Evy was still sitting and staring at the ground. Sam dreaded having to do anything to her, even though he knew he had to punish her in some way. Evy had a tendency, even at seven years old, to be much harder on herself than Sam ever could be. That came from six years of living with John, who expected much more out of her as a six-year-old than she could really give. After gathering his thoughts, Sam walked back over to her.

"Come on, Cricket. Let's go."

Evy obediently stood up and followed Sam outside and to the car. She was quiet the whole ride home. Sam's heart sank a little when he saw that Dean was home. The last thing he wanted was Dean approving of what had happened at school today. Sam stopped the car in the driveway and told Evy to go inside and go straight to her room. She grabbed her backpack and went in without a word. Sam couldn't tell if she was scared, feeling guilty, or a little of both. Sam finally got out himself and walked inside. Dean was waiting, standing in the front room looking confused.

"Hey. Is baby girl okay?" Dean asked. "She gave me a hug but wouldn't say anything."

"No, not really." Sam said, walking past Dean to the kitchen.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

Sam grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and took a long sip before answering Dean. He told Dean the story of what had happened at school, having to pick up Evy, and her being suspended. After a few moments of stunned silence, Dean remarked,

"Atta girl."

"Dean, do not tell her that this was okay." Sam said. "She has to be punished for this."

"Why?" Dean asked. "You didn't punish her before…"

"That was different." Sam explained. "Randall knocked her down and hurt her first. Evy didn't start it this time, but she did throw the first punch."

"So what are you gonna do?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Sam said.

"Well, you know what Dad would've…" Dean said.

Sam cut him off before he could finish that sentence. "Yeah, Dean. I know what Dad would've done. It's part of the reason I took her away from him in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Dean said, a little taken aback at how defensive Sam was.

"Dad would've made her feel like shit for being a kid." Sam said. "He would've either spanked her and grounded her for days or yelled at her for "drawing attention" to us. Or both. She needs to know what she did was wrong, but that it's okay to make a mistake and be a kid."

Sam expected Dean to continue arguing with him, but he surprised Sam by just nodding and accepting his decision. No one said anything for a few more minutes, the length of time it took Sam to finish his beer. He finally figured out what to do, although it killed him; Evy would hate it, but it would help Sam get his message across. Sam dug out a spiral notebook, got out another beer, and spent a few minutes working in the notebook. Sam knew Evy was anxiously sitting in her room, waiting on him; he decided to end her anxiety and brought the notebook with him.

When he reached Evy's room, Sam started to knock, then stopped himself. He considered the fact that he was coming to punish Evy, which he knew his father would've considered a negation of any right to privacy. Sam ultimately decided to knock. He wanted Evy to have a much improved relationship with him and Dean over the one she had with John. He waited a moment, then barely heard it.

"Come in."
Sam opened the door and walked in. Evy was sitting on her bed, head hung down just as it had been in the school office when Sam had picked her up. Sam fought the urge to pick her up and hold her, tickle her, make her laugh somehow. Tell her not to do it again, that everything was okay. He hated watching her beat herself up like this. Hopefully, after the punishment he'd decided on, Evy would realize that it was okay to make mistakes and that they could all move on. Evy looked at him, and the look on her face made Sam's heart ache. She didn't light up like she normally did; she was afraid. Sam sat on the bed and put the notebook next to him.

"Okay, baby. What happened today?"

Evy slowly gave him basically the same story the principal had given him. Jessica, the class bully, had been picking on Lily all day. Evy had asked her to stop, and everything had come to a head on the playground. Jessica was picking on Lily again, and Evy asked her to stop again. When she didn't, Evy had lost her temper and hit Jessica as hard as she could.

"Alright. Look, I'm proud of you for sticking up for Lily. I really am. But you know hitting Jessica was wrong, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do." Evy said.

"But you were mad and lost your temper." Sam guessed.

Evy nodded sadly, still anxious about what was coming.

"It happens to the best of us, baby." Sam said kindly. Evy looked at him, surprised at his sudden attempt at comfort. Sam continued. "But it was wrong. Do you know why?"

"Because I hurt her." Evy answered.

"Exactly." Sam said. "What are you supposed to do in that situation?"

Evy thought for a moment before answering. "Tell a grown up. Or walk away."

"Or both." Sam said. "The only time it's okay to hit anyone is when they're coming after you. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Evy answered. She couldn't stand waiting anymore and finally asked. "How much trouble am I in?"

"Well…" Sam said, "you're suspended for three days, so you're grounded for three days. You can do anything that's in this room-play with toys, read, but you can't leave this room unless you're going to the bathroom or getting a shower. I'll bring you your meals up here. Okay?"

"Can I see Lily?" Evy asked.

"No." Sam said right away. "No Lily, no dessert, no TV, and you go to bed half an hour early each night. Alright?"

"Okay." Evy said quietly.

"That's not it." Sam said. "Do you have your homework that Mrs. Olson gave you?"

"It's in my backpack." Evy said.

"You have to do that. All of it. I'll look at it to make sure it's done, but I'm gonna trust you to do your best on it. If you need help with anything, just tell me when I bring you your food and I'll help you. Okay?"

Evy nodded.

"One more thing." Sam said, taking the notebook and opening it up. "You've got lines. A hundred of them. Read what I wrote at the top."

"I will not get into fights, and I will tell an adult when I need help with a bully." Evy read.

"Exactly." Sam said. "I'm taking this as a promise. You get in another fight, and you'll be grounded for a week next time. Okay?"

"Okay." Evy said.

"Something else is bothering you. What is it?" Sam asked. "Are you upset about being grounded?"

"No. I deserve it." Evy said. "I just feel bad for letting you down."

"Baby, look at me." Sam said. "Listen. I'm not happy with you for what happened today. But you made a mistake. You do everything I just gave you to do, and apologize to Jessica when you go back to school, everything's wiped clean. We'll start over. Understand?" Evy nodded and Sam finished by saying, "You could never, ever let me down. I am proud of you, no matter what."

Evy grabbed Sam's neck and gave him a long, relieved hug. She'd been worried that he'd yell at her, try to make her feel bad about herself for what had happened on the playground today. But he didn't. He had been calm, and helped her see that she'd done wrong, and wasn't a bad kid; she'd just made a mistake. As long as she paid for it, everything would be okay.

"Why don't you get started on your homework, baby?" Sam suggested. "I'll go start on dinner."

"Okay." Evy said, but before she let him go, said, "I'm sorry, Sammy."

"I know, Cricket. I know." Sam said. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Evy pulled away from Sam and walked over to her desk. She put the notebook Sam had given her on the desk, and pulled out her homework. Sam watched her for a minute, relieved she hadn't started crying. Maybe he was on to something. This grounding would be hard on both of them. Evy hated being alone, and Sam knew he'd have to fight the urge all week to tell her she could come out. But, as he'd been prepared to tell Dean downstairs and been surprised when he didn't have to, it wasn't about doing what was easiest for him. It was about doing what was best for Evy. Sam turned and went down to the kitchen to make them dinner.

The three days were tough, but Evy did do exactly what Sam had told her to do, and more. She had even written an apology note to both Jessica and Mrs. Olson without being told. As Sam put her to bed that Friday night, she seemed excited.

"I can come out tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." Sam said as he sat on the edge of her bed. "I am very, very proud of you for being so good this week." When she grinned, Sam got an idea. "You want me to read you a story?"

"Really? I thought you said…" Evy started.

"You earned it." Sam said.

He had not been reading her bedtime stories that week. He knew her; as much as she wanted to be good and make it up to Sam, she craved company too much and would use the bedtime stories to try and keep him in the room with her. Evy picked out a book, and was asleep just as Sam finished it. He was just as relieved as she was that the week was out. He had to work the following night, but planned to spend the day with her. Sam turned out her light and kissed her cheek.

"Good night, Cricket. I love you, baby."

The next morning, Sam woke up early, fixing Evy her favorite breakfast. The smell of his cooking usually woke her up, so when it didn't, Sam went up to her room, concerned. Thinking she was still asleep, Sam opened the door slowly and was surprised to see her sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked. "You know you can come down now, right?"

"Yeah." Evy said.

Sam didn't like the sound of her voice. "Cricket? What's wrong?"

"I didn't sleep last night." She said.

"What? Why?" Sam asked. "Are you sick?"

"No." Evy said. "I had a bad dream."

"Baby, why didn't you come get me?" Sam said.

Evy looked as if she wanted to cry. Whether it was from confusion, sadness, frustration, or exhaustion, Sam couldn't tell. Maybe it was all three. But she stopped rubbing her eyes and said,

"You said I had to stay in my room."

Sam felt his heart drop. She'd tried so hard to do exactly as he said that she'd sat up for who knew how long, scared and all alone. He realized that he hadn't told her she could come to him with a bad dream; he didn't think he'd had to. Sam took her hand and kissed it, then brushed her hair out of her face.

"Cricket, I don't care what's going on, you can always come find me if you're scared. For any reason. No matter what. Okay?"

"Okay." Evy said. "Can I go back to sleep in your room?"

"How about this?" Sam said, pulling her over and putting her in his lap. "I made some breakfast. Your favorite pancakes. Why don't we go eat a little, then we'll both take a nap. Sound like a plan?"

Evy nodded, laying her head down on Sam's chest.

"You want to go to work with me tonight?" Sam asked. "Miss Laura's been asking to see you."

"Yes, please." Evy answered quietly.

Sam stroked Evy's hair a little before saying, "I love you, Cricket. More than anything else in the world."

After a loud yawn, Evy answered back, "Love you too, Sammy."

Next chapter: School gets out for the summer.

A/N: I know Dean hasn't been too involved in the story at this point. I promise there's more Dean/Evy scenes coming. Just be patient with me :)